We have been super, mondo busy this year! We completed a 27 piece sculpture garden for St. Francis Children’s Hospital in Tulsa, OK in January.

We are on the final phase of the UNC-CH Children’s Hospital sculpture garden. We are adding bees, 125ft of steel grass, and a sign. There is a chance that we may do another sculpture garden at the hospital if our proposal is accepted.

Our employee count is now at 5 which is crazy considering it was me and Casey for 5 years and we added the other 3 in 6 months. Speaking of adding, we are also doubling the size of our new shop in the next few months to accomodate more equipment and more workspace.
We continue to add new critters to the lineup. An inchworm, snail, tree frog, and the bees are all new items.
Again, our most humble thanks to everyone who has helped us get to where we are now and where we are yet to go.
Thanks for reading!
Em

So the drama continues… it’s been quite a year! We come to work yesterday and go to load some material in our work truck-only it’s not there. Some time between 8pm and 7am someone highjacked our huge (think moving truck size) box truck from our new shop. We called the police who put out a bulletin for the truck but left us with little hope since it had been twelve hours since it was last seen. I called our insurance and they said I didn’t have theft coverage on the truck -WHAT?! not again… So, I commenced to praying- hard. “please bring our truck back, we can’t have another thing lost this year!

The phone rings. A man from Mckee foods (they distribute Little Debbie snack cakes) had found our truck! He had found the truck abandoned in their parking lot with the doors open and the lights on. The thieves had run out of gas about 10 miles from the shop. He found our insurance card in the glove box and called the insurance company. They said I had just reported it stolen and they gave him our number.

When we arrived, we brought that kind man a copper sun as a token of our thanks. He had charged the battery AND filled the cab with boxes of Little Debbies! We got the truck back just in time to make our deliveries for the day. God can work miracles if you let Him!

So all is well that ends well. On another note- we got another sculpture garden job at a new children’s hospital in Tulsa, OK. It is pretty similar to the UNC job except it’s on the ground! The catch is it has to be installed by the 2nd week in January for their grand opening. So we are some flower makin’ fools right now! I’ll post pics soon.

Hope everyone is well and is looking for the blessings in your life everyday!

Em

This Friday November 16th we will be in the Fox 8 WGHP “Roy’s Folks Craft Fair” at Providence Place in High Point. This is a televised event, so you may catch a glimpse of us on the morning or noon news. We will be bringing our copper ornaments, copper star tree toppers, and other copper wall decor. We will also have our giant box turtle “Henry” with us and maybe a large flower or two. The show runs Friday only and is from 6am to 6pm. We have to be up so early! But it has been a good show for us in the past. Also, all the proceeds from ticket sales go to Fox 8 Gifts for Kids.

Check it out if you can, it’s an awsome place to get unique and handmade Christmas presents from local artists. I think there will be a guitar maker, glass blower, several painters, photographers, potters, baked goods, and more! Last year we bought a hand made broom- doesn’t sound exciting but I love it. Who knew the real thing (ie straw) worked so much better? Ok so I’m easy to please. Anyway, everyone there has been featured on Roy’s Folks- so come out and shop local!

Thanks for reading!

Em

Well it’s been a long time coming, but we are officially up and running. We had an open house last week and did demos of the new equipment, which went prettty well. We are quoting a new hospital sculpture garden in Oklahoma, so hopefully we will begin to take off with our public art installations!

After the fire, Casey was able to go to Wheelwright Mass. and take a class from a master metal shaper named Fay Butler. Casey came back after a week of intense training with a whole new style of metal manipulation. He learned the art of shrinking and stretching metal, using a power hammer, and how to form complex curves. So what is his first creation going to be? A giant bumble bee! We will make a few for the last phase of the UNC hospital job. We are also gearing up for the Annual Roy’s Folks craft show Nov. 16th in High Point. This is a televised event with all the craftsmen who have been featured on Fox 8 WGHP. It’s good exposure and we will have to make something big and exciting to unveil. We will also begin selling our copper Christmas ornaments and copper star tree toppers.

We are very happy to be back- and busy. Please see the pics of the new shop! I’m sure the yard will begin filling up with giant bugs and flowers soon. Come by and see us,

Em

For those of you who haven’t heard, here is an update on the historical events that have been my life for the last 3 months
June 30th, 2007- a MASSIVE fire destroyed our workshop while Casey and I prepared for Festival of the Eno the following week. One of our pieces of equipment caught fire and was fed by 600lbs of liquid oxygen that kept it raging until the bottle was empty. Casey tried to put it out with extinguishers and water but it was too intense. I grabbed the kids and the dogs out of the yard and called 911. At this point the whole building is engulfed, burning the tops of trees 60ft tall. Our neighbor, who is a fireman, heard Casey screaming and thought he was being attacked by someone! SO he hoped in his truck and rode over, only to get out and immediatly begin to suit up and take charge of the situation. His wife got our kids and removed them from me-their very paniced and freaked out mother- to go play at her house with her kids.
10 fire trucks and 3 hours later, the fire was out. During the blaze, hundreds of paint cans exploded like fireworks, and the firemen dragged 14 bottles of welding gases away from the heat. Needless to say, the fact that no one was hurt is a blessing. I wish I could say the same for the shop and it’s contents! NOTHING. Not even a tape measure. All my and Casey’s grandfather’s tools and our first tools we gone. Even our entire cd collection! (No more Beastie Boys, sniff- sniff!) In all over $200,000 worth of equipment.. Here’s the kicker- our business insurance lapsed at Christmas. I had meant to renew, but life happens and I never did. Homeowners helped to the tune of $10,000. But the real help came from our amazing family and friends!!! (Now the happy part)
While the shop was burning and after I got over the initial freaking out, I thought to myself, ” WOW, God must have something huge for us!”. Casey and I have always believed that God had set us on a path with our business, too many miracles have happened for us to believe otherwise. Just the week before, we had been led to let go of all our industrial customers to focus on doing all sculptural and ornamental work. We were already booked through the end of the year! This was our dream- to do our designs, not mass production of machine parts. You may say, “how can you not be mad at God for letting your shop burn down!?”. Well, these last 3 months have been miracle after miracle. I believe God was pruning a branch of our business that did not bear fruit- our shop. We were so cramped, no room for equipment, no heat- that we were actually slowed down by the chaos in our workspace. We are currently moving into a shop with 5 times the space and only the tools we need, not all the clutter of crap we didn’t need. Also, Casey had been working 7 days a week, 12 hours a day for years. He has had a much deserved break to spend time with his family. At the new shop we will have 2 new employees to help carry the load and since it’s not at our house, Casey won’t feel guilty for being home and not working.
How have we survived 3 months with no income and been able to buy a new shop and all new tools? GOD. And the help of family and friends. Our church donated grocery and Walmart cards to keep us fed through the end of the year. They also came out for a work day to sort through rubble after the fire. My home church in Hillsborough, threw a “tool party” for us on my 30th birthday, which netted many cool tools and gift cards. Friends and customers gave donations and kind notes, others brought tools they didn’t need anymore. On October 13th, friends are throwing a benefit concert at Irongate Winery in Mebane. $25 gets catered food, great band, silent art auction, and cash wine bar. We have been humbled by everyone’s amazing outpouring of hospitality.
This week we are moving into our new building at 3222 N. Hwy 49 in Burlington. We bought a water jet- which cuts anything (glass, metal, wood, rubber, plastic, paper) with WATER- not fire!!! This is killer technology that no one around here has and we are stoked! It will open so many new design options for us. We hope to be operational by mid October, when I will announce our grand opening! Please come and check out the new digs!!!!
We are ready to start this new phase in our business and our lives and want everyone to share it. Thank you all for your thoughts and prayers. We made it and we are better than ever.

EM